Handicapped access affects kitchen design and dining rooms

Nation's Restaurant News, August 21, 1995 by Foster Frable, Jr.

The American Disability Act, ADA, has brought many changes to foodservice operations. Much of the concern of management has been directed at the front-of-the-house and personnel policies. Building, toilet and dining-room access have been the primary focus in accessibility design of restaurants and other foodservice operations.

ADA is only one of a number of codes affecting workplace access for the handicapped. Many areas have state or local codes based on ANSI A117 that are more strict than ADA guidelines. Accommodating persons with disabilities encompasses more than wheelchair access.

We have heard many interpretations of ADA compliance ranging from "it doesn't affect me because a handicapped person couldn't work in a kitchen" to "the whole workplace has to be handicapped accessible."

Title III of ADA requires that new construction and alterations of all commercial facilities comply with ADA Accessibility Guidelines. Application of the guidelines is not open to interpretation and should be automatically incorporated into the facility's design.

The ADA requires that existing public accommodations, including dining rooms or serveries, remove architectural barriers, where such removal is "readily achievable," which is based on two tests: (1) Removal of the barrier must be "easily accomplishable without much difficulty, and (2) modifications are to be accomplished without much expense. No specific dollar amounts are identified for the meaning of "much expense."

Determining what is readily achievable includes analysis of: (1) the nature and cost of modification, (2) the overall financial resources of the facility, the number of employees and the impact on the facility operation, (3) the overall size of business and (4) the type of operation and the physical separation of facilities. The "readily achievable" standard and its economic test in particular do not require that all barriers be removed at once. The obligation to remove barriers is ongoing, allowing a facility to use its capital improvement budget to remove barriers as funds become available. All commercial facilities through the country eventually need to become accessible.

Current interpretation of back-of-the-house requirements includes:

(1) Wheelchair Access. A line cook does not commonly work in a wheelchair, but a chef, manager or dietitian could well require access to all of the kitchen areas if he or she were wheelchair bound. Handicapped or disabled building, fire and health inspectors need to access most areas of the kitchen and the food storage rooms. In some areas firemen disabled in the line of duty are utilized as inspectors. All aisles and work spaces must be a minimum of 36 inches wide with a 60-inch turning radius at the juncture and offices. To eliminate the need for a 60-inch turning radius in work areas, dead-end aisles must be avoided. Work areas with passage on both ends and islands with double access must be accommodated in the design.

Floor depressions, troughs and so on and other barriers must not encroach on this access. Most codes permit a reduction of clear width to 32 inches through doorways and other restrictions but only for a depth of 24 inches. Eighteen-inch-clear access must be provided at door entrances to access the door unless there is a swinging door or automatic door operator.

A handicapped chef or purchasing manager needs to access storage areas, including walk-in coolers, to check inventory. To ensure wheelchair access into coolers, ramps into coolers can not exceed 2 inches in rise over 24 inches. Walk-in coolers with 4-inch-high floors or ramps or with 30-inch doors are not compliant. New, 2-inch-thick insulated floors are now available from many walk-in manufacturers, which make it possible to reduce or eliminate ramps completely. In renovations with an existing quarry tile floor, if the floor is removed where a new walk-in cooler is installed, the 2-inch, new walk-in cooler floor sits flush with no obstruction to wheelchairs or carts.

Providing 36-inch aisles, flush walk-in cooler floors, and troughs out of the traffic pattern also benefits the materials flow on carts and racks through the kitchen.

The key point is access through a kitchen and storage area for management or inspection, not that a handicapped person will necessarily need to work as a cook or dishwasher.

(2) Accommodation. As a rule of thumb, any new or renovated foodservice facility should be able to accommodate handicapped persons for 10 of its work positions. There are a number of functions that can be performed in a kitchen by the temporarily or permanently handicapped. Managers, purchasing agents and supervisors can be productive employees if offices, storerooms and traffic aisles are properly sized. Adjustable preparation tables allow the disabled to work from benches or wheelchairs. Takeout or room service ordering, cashiering, and reservation and reception functions can be performed by disabled persons if their work areas are accessible.

A key point in both of these areas is that one of your best managers or employees could be injured in an accident, causing an extended period of absence. Having access and accommodation for that employee to continue to work may turn out to be one of your best investments.